176: Jill Baron, MD on Integrative Functional Medicine and Living a Balanced Life

This is a conversation I’ve been wanting to have a for a long time. Jill Baron, MD, a board-certified Integrative Functional Medicine doctor, and I talk about a wide range of health problems that could affect runners. Side note: Always see your doctor regarding your own condition(s). Jill and I discuss the following in relation to how they affect runners:

Menopause and perimenopause (guys—it’s good for you to know this so you know what’s going on with the women in your life)

Cancer

Autoimmune disorders

Chinese medicine

Ayurveda

Why drinking warm water is better than drinking cold water

Chi gong

Mindfulness

Environmental medicine

Seven core imbalances

Our interview felt more like a conversation where I got to pick the Integrative Functional Medicine doctor’s brain and hear her own personal experiences with Eastern medicine.

Serena Marie, RD, talks about medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) as they are thought to help control blood sugar by upregulating the utilization of fatty acids for fuel instead of sugar in the body. MCT naturally occurs in coconut oil. Read more HERE.

Interestingly, beans, legumes, and lentils have a similar function in the body, when the resistant starch in these foods travels to the colon and healthy gut bacteria breaks it down and turns the resistant starch into butyric acid (which is a short-chain fatty acid). Butyric acid also upregulates fatty acids for fuel and helps with blood sugar control.

2017 is the year of the Flourishing Experiment! If you’d like to join a group to help you with your habits and resolutions, or create a Flourishing Experiment yourself, reach out to Kari at Kari@TheRunningLifestyle.com for more information.

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